The present invention relates generally to an electroionic processing system, and more particularly to an electroionic processing system having a high frequency alternating current (AC) power source for treating potable water, process water, wastewater, biosolids, sludge, primary effluent, secondary effluent, and other biochemical processing functions, including producing hydrogen peroxide and other useful chemicals.
Both potable water and wastewater contain microorganisms. Various water treatment systems are provided in the prior art for destroying bacteria and other microorganisms from potable water and disinfecting the water to a level suitable for human and animal consumption. Other water treatment systems treat wastewater by reducing the infectious components to levels which are not suitable for human or animal consumption, but are satisfactory for discharge into various water bodies. Similar water disinfection systems may be applied in both potable water and wastewater applications to reduce the microbial containment level to certain specified governmental standards. Historically, the use of chlorination for disinfection has been pervasive, and in recent years systems employing ultraviolet radiation and ozonation have been commercialized as well.
The treatment of wastewater does not provide water suitable for human consumption, either by drinking, use in cooking, washing of food products for consumption and the like. Rather, wastewater is defined by various public and governmental standards so as to permit discharge, when properly treated and disinfected, into relatively large bodies of water, such as rivers, lakes and oceans. Generally, wastewater treatment presently requires processing to meet the following basic content specifications: Total suspended solids less than 30 milligrams per liter (mg/l); biological oxygen demand (BOD) less than 30 mg/l; Fecal coliforms bacteria less than 200 colonies per 100 ml. Certain other specifications may also require removal of nitrogen, ammonia and phosphorous.
Wastewater treatment systems typically include an initial primary component involving both physical and chemical treatment to reduce suspended solid materials, a secondary component involving biological treatment of the wastewater to remove dissolved organic substances, followed by a third component to remove bacteria and/or other microbes. A final component involves one or more treatments of chlorination, ultraviolet radiation or ozonation.
Chlorine and its variants (chloramines and chlorine dioxide, etc.) are disinfectants added to drinking water to reduce or eliminate microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, which can be present in water supplies. However, chlorine also reacts with organic matter in the water to produce chlorination byproducts. The most common of these byproducts are trihalomethanes (THMs), which include chloroform. These byproducts have been shown to cause cancer and birth defects in children. Also, chlorination at non-toxic dosage levels, is not capable of inactivating Cryptosporidium, a major disease-causing parasite.
In wastewater treatment, chlorination must be followed by dechlorination using sulfur dioxide or an equivalent chemical to comply with discharge chlorine levels. This is a costly process. In addition, recent OSHA regulations have established tight controls for safe handling, storage and security of chlorine gas.
Ultraviolet Radiation (UV) is an alternative to chlorination. While UV disinfection systems offer the primary current alternative to chlorination, they also have serious limitations. In large-scale disinfection systems, they do not effectively provide the required disinfection. Also, in high turbidity water or wastewater, disinfection action is erratic and unpredictable due to absorption and scattering of the efficacious light. Small amounts of chlorine or other disinfectants still must be added.
Ozonation is a water treatment process that destroys bacteria and other microorganisms through an infusion of ozone, a gas produced by subjecting oxygen molecules to a source of energy. Ozone is one of the strongest oxidizing agents used to reduce odor and color, eliminate organic waste and reduce total organic carbon (TOC) in water. Ozonation is very effective for inactivating Cryptosporidium and other naturally occurring organisms. Ozonation also can reduce the formation of THMs, which result from the interaction of chlorine and naturally occurring organic material in the water. Although ozone is a very effective disinfectant, it breaks down quickly and cannot be used to maintain disinfection in a distribution system. Small amounts of chlorine or other disinfectants still must be added. Renovating water treatment plants so that they can use ozonation can be expensive. Ozonation systems are cost effective only in very large-scale water and wastewater treatment plants. Ozone also produces its own carcinogenic disinfection byproducts.
Various prior art electrochemical processing systems have also been used for disinfection and/or oxidation of potable water and wastewater. These prior art systems include electroporation and electrolytic systems.
Electroporation systems have been used for the inactivation of bacteria from water including wastewater. The technique is generally based on increasing cell membrane permeability using very high voltage electric fields. The water is passed through a disinfection unit having spaced electrodes which are connected to a high voltage source, generally on the order of kilovolts. The high electric field generated changes the permeability of microbial cells and creates a transient, reversible and/or a permanent and irreversible state of increased porosity. The transient condition usually arises at lower values of electric field intensities. The permanent and irreversible state thus is generally operable at much higher levels. Although such systems have been developed, the required high voltage power supply is very costly and also may raise serious safety problems. Electroporation disinfection systems also consume large amounts of electric power. Electroporation systems have disadvantages not only from the cost, but also from the practicality of the system as applied to large water utility and wastewater applications. Further, requirements for large flow cells within closed systems or open channels limit the current state of the art in electroporation systems.
Electroporation employs the use of high voltage pulsed or DC electric fields previously discussed for disinfection is practical only in small, point-of-use applications. For example, the use of prior art treatment with electric fields in the one to ten kilovolt per centimeter range extrapolates to tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of volts required using the water flow routes of existing treatment plants. At the treatment plant level, voltage values and power consumption are significantly large and raise concerns for both safety and cost effectiveness.
DC-based electroporation (Electric Arcing) employs high voltage pulses that destroy microbial cells by increasing cell porosity and permebiliy. DC-based electroporation is a high-voltage process. DC electroionics electrically generates hydrogen peroxide and other oxidizing agents with direct current-activated electrode action. Both of these DC techniques are characterized by efficient disinfection in small labaoratory-scale processes, inefficient disinfection in large-scale processes, and significant electrode contamination after prolonged operation. Both technologies are not efficient or cost-effective in large-scale plant-size operations.
Electrolytic syetems employ electrolytic cells that rely on the use of toxic metal electrodes which increase metal concentrations in aqueous solution that sometimes exceed maximum contamination levels for silver, copper, lead or other metals. This toxicity problem has been generally ignored or presented generally without a proper basis for solving the problem particularly in high flow rate systems by most of the prior art, except for U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,364, which provides a second electrolytic cell to remove the toxic metal. The '364 patent, however, does not establish that such metal removal could be accomplished in a cell of reasonable and cost effective size, particularly in high flow rates systems.
The prior art electromagnetic field approaches to wastewater disinfection and/or organics oxidation have failed to achieve the required efficiency levels in large-scale disinfection operations. DC-based systems are also susceptible to electrode contamination. Electroporation systems have found use only in limited, point-of-use applications where small pipe diameters are the rule. However, commercially applicable systems for water treatment plants and large-scale wastewater processing have not found significant application.
Alternate systems based on ionic current flow within water have been used, particularly for limited flow systems such as swimming pools and other like bodies. These systems, however, use metals such as zinc, copper, lead, silver or the like which introduce toxic ions into the water. This approach raises further questions or acceptability and compliance with federal and state chemical contamination limits.
In summary, the prior art has considered the problems of disinfecting water with various electroporative or ionic processes to establish a level acceptable for human or animal consumption and of wastewater for discharge into large bodies of water. It is submitted that such suggested systems cannot operate at the flow rate in channel or pipe sizes required for municipal water/wastewater treatment plants or other high volume applications. Further, the prior ionic disinfection art has universally relied on metal electrodes which introduce undesirable and significant toxic metals into the treated water system, and particularly systems which would not function practically in the channel or pipe sizes at the high rates of flow encountered in modern day community water and wastewater treatment systems.
Therefore, a need exists for a disinfection and oxidation system for both potable water and for wastewater which is operable to remove bacteria and other microorganisms from water and wastewater, which is operable at high rates of flow as encountered for commercial and community water supplies as well as various sizes of wastewater treatment systems.